Richard M. Pollack

Dr. Richard M. (Ricky) Pollack, 83, died on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 in Montclair NJ. Funeral will be held at Bnai Keshet Reconstructionist Synagogue, 99 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair NJ on Friday, September 21 at 10 am.

An ever enthusiastic and gregarious person, he was a lover of lively and engaging conversation, classical music and wilderness hiking. Extremely well-read, politically engaged, and widely traveled, he was able to converse on a broad variety of topics and freely shared his (often strongly-held) opinions. He was a loving and encouraging presence in the lives of his partner Lori, his children and his grandchildren, and an inspirational mentor to his students. More than anything, he valued his personal interactions with family and friends and is remembered most strongly for his broad smile, and generosity of spirit.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Ricky lived in NYC prior to moving to Montclair. He received his undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College in 1956 and his PhD in Mathematics from New York University in 1962. He had a long and distinguished career as a Professor of Mathematics (and after 1990, Mathematics and Computer Science) at NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He was an influential mathematician whose research and teaching in discrete and convex geometry had a large impact with over 80 publications and numerous collaborators around the world. He was a founding co-editor-in-chief of the journal Discrete and Computational Geometry and in 2012 became a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society.

Ricky is survived by his long-time partner, Lori Smith, his children, Sharon Pollack (Kathryn Crawford) and Daniel Pollack (Tatiana Toro), his sister, Anne Fishkin (William Kroesser) and his five grandchildren: Nathan Pollack, Adam Pollack, Emily Pollack, Samuel Pollack-Toro and Sara Pollack-Toro.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Montclair Ambulance Unit, 95 Walnut Street, Montclair NJ 07042

Shiva will be observed at the Pollack/Crawford home on Friday 2 pm until sundown, Saturday evening from 6 until 9pm, with Services at 7:30 p and Sunday 11am to 3 pm.